(This post was written last Saturday, so I’m actually on Day 8 now)
Last week the family and I had the most gloriously fantastic holiday. We headed north to Langkawi Island, which is on the west coast of Malaysia, near the border of Thailand. Langkawi holds a very special place in my heart, because The Rock and I had our wedding ceremony there over 10 years ago. It was held on the beach, and apart from a few hiccups, it was pretty special and perfect.
We stayed at the Meritus Pelangi Hotel, which is not a Super swish hotel like The Datai or Four Seasons. But, we like the location. It’s on Cenang Beach (Pantai Cenang) and we love the vibe of the beach. It’s not an exclusive private beach, and dotted along it are all sorts of accommodation, most of them being in the mid to lower Budget. Think motel style and A frame wooden huts. In the evening, as the sun sets into brilliant shades of the rainbow, the locals come out to play. The tourists join in the Volleyball and 5 a side Football games, and the local kids cavort about in the waves amidst the tourist kids. It’s a special place. There are numerous places to eat, and on the street side, plenty of shops selling nick nacks, massages, and food. The thing that sets Langkawi apart from it’s counterpart in Thailand, namely Phuket, is there is no sleaze in Langkawi. We passed a bar which had a big sign saying “Girls girls girls! If that’s what you’re looking for …. You’re on the WRONG island”. Love it.
The Rock and I aren’t the sort of beach goers who are like young Labrador pups. And by that, I don’t mean licking everyone that passes by. We don’t feel the need to … Be active and play. We have friends who can’t sit still on the beach, and need to canoe, swim, play frisbee, kick a ball around. No sir. The Rock and I are quite happy to sit under the shade of the coconut trees with our books (or kindles) and enjoy the lovely sea Breeze whilst allowing ourselves to be very, very lazy. Sure, we swim, play with the kids in the pool. But, when temperatures hit 38-40C, you really don’t want to be out in the sun too much.
So, apart from totally chillaxing, what else does one do. Ah that’s where I ran into problems. Eat. My tastebuds have come back to normal as soon as Dr L took me off Klacid (antibiotics). So that meant, that I was enjoying eating. The buffet breakfast, as at most 4-5 star hotels, was pretty good. And as it was so hot, a lot of ice cream was consumed. The one fault of Pelangi Hotel was the menu. Not enough salads, or vegetarian dishes. I mean, they had a category of dishes on the menu labelled “Comfort Food”. That should give you an idea of what was on it.
I’m trying to get to the point of the title of this blog. I’m ashamed to say that I put on even more weight. It’s shocking! So I’ve declared today, 2nd April 2016, as Day 1 of “get your cr@p together and stop blaming everything on your cancer”. Meaning, in very simple terms, eat nutritious meals not loaded in sugar and refined carbohydrates, and also to get exercising.
Exercising – I was a regular at the gym until the time I had the surgery to remove my right expander. I also just couldn’t face going to work out bald, I was mortified that people would think I looked weird. Langkawi however, cured me off that. I went Swimming… Wait for it… Bald! It was so liberating! After that, I felt I could face the gym and the pilates studio and work out bald – it’s too hot to wear anything else.
Day 1. So far, so good. Hope this is the start of getting back into the old me.
Rocked By Pilates, Rocked by Cancer 